Topic: Ted Kennedy Jr.

Ted Kennedy Jr., son of the late senator, appears to be floating his name for a potential senatorial bid to replace John Kerry. A “friend and adviser” to the Kennedy scion emailed the following to Mike Allen this morning:

“It’s no secret that Ted is interested in entering politics, after a long and successful career as a disability rights advocate and businessman. Numerous people in Massachusetts have reached out to him to ask him to consider running for office there, and, if Senator Kerry is nominated to a Cabinet post, it’s fair to say that he will be giving this very serious consideration.”

Ted Kennedy Jr., son of the late senator, appears to be floating his name for a potential senatorial bid to replace John Kerry. A “friend and adviser” to the Kennedy scion emailed the following to Mike Allen this morning:

“It’s no secret that Ted is interested in entering politics, after a long and successful career as a disability rights advocate and businessman. Numerous people in Massachusetts have reached out to him to ask him to consider running for office there, and, if Senator Kerry is nominated to a Cabinet post, it’s fair to say that he will be giving this very serious consideration.”

The biggest obstacle for EMK Jr. is that he lives in Connecticut and would probably have to fix that before running for Senate across the border. But he could be an unbeatable candidate in a state where the Kennedy name and bloodline is one of the most powerful assets a politician can have.

Of course, that nepotism could always backfire. Back in 2010, Scott Brown was able to beat Martha Coakley by portraying her as so out-of-touch and arrogant that she expected the seat to be handed to her. Considering EMK Jr.’s Connecticut residency and family background, Brown’s campaign attacks would write themselves.

Whether Democrats will repeat the mistakes of 2010 is another question. One Massachusetts Democratic Party source said they learned their lesson from 2010, and realize their candidate has to actually compete for the seat rather than taking it as a given.

“Dems learned their lesson in ’10. Not worried about Scott Brown anymore” said the source. “In ’10 we thought it would be a breeze. We know the work that has to be put in now.”